Current concepts in the diagnosis and treatment of hand and wrist injuries in sports.

The hand is the most commonly injured part in sport. Fortunately, most injuries are minor and do not interfere with the sport participation, but even these leave residual functional deficits that may increase with time. More severe injuries of the hand are appreciated instantly by the player and health care personnel and generally receive better care. The goal is to maintain the best functioning hands now for the sport and in the future for the life's work of the hand. A program is herein described outlining the care of minor and major sports injuries to the hand that tries to return the injured player quickly to the sport participation while not jeopardizing the future. Because injuries to this most important tool are so frequent, it is recommended that a lecture be given to each sport group prior to the season to describe and raise the awareness of the players regarding hand and finger injury.

PMID: 3982275 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]